Hello! Very first post here. Bear with me, I am not an engineer by trade. I am a Pilot for the USAF with an interest in many different hobbies... and I know my way around a soldering iron!
So, I am an American living in the UK. The cars are much different over here. Many of them are very basic for the purpose of removing driver distractions. The English are very particular about distracted driving.
Thus, I bought a simple, inexpensive car since I will be here only about 2 to 3 years. It does not have cruise control, sadly. Now, a lot of the roads don't require it but I have a few reasons I would like it.
1. It's a small car, my knee hurts to drive based on the position I am in. Even after about 10-15 minutes.
2. The English get fined heavily for speeding and there are speed cameras EVERYWHERE. They have no problem with Big Brother here.
3. Aftermarket Cruise Control systems cost about 340 to 360 GBP plus 100 GBP for install (about $550 total) and are complex in operation. Many use wire taps and are not plug and play or easily removed. I will have to re-sell the vehicle when I leave since I can not take this model back to the US.
4. This model has no Ford Factory options (even though similar models sort of do...)
5. It would be fun to come up with something (heeding to safety concerns)
It is a drive-by-wire car with a small 1.6 TDCi Diesel engine. My idea is to basically have a remote throttle on the dash that mimics the same outputs as the accelerator pedal. When switched on, it would remove power from the floor pedal and transfer it to the dash mounted one (safety plan to follow). I am thinking begin with an actual accelerator pedal from a used car (can get very cheap), remove everything and get just the electronics out of it.
In the aviation world , when we fly without moving the throttles or adjust power, we call it "flying a fuel flow" (or something along those lines). This would be the same thing. Instead of using a speed sensor on the transmission or axel, it would simply hold the throttle at a constant position that you can vary. Instead of holding a speed, going up and down hills would cause speed variations. I actually prefer this and wish more Cruise Control systems operated this way. It is more efficient if you let your speed bleed down slightly when going up a hill and then use gravity to re-accelerate you on your way down. We sometimes fly this way. Sometimes you don't have to brake or pull power and waste the energy that you've already created.
As far as safety, it would require a switch that would release when you step on the brake... the same way it would in a normal system. So, you could hit the brake and return control to the floor pedal or manually switch it off. At first I figured I would have to build some kind of amplifier to get enough current to release a switch from the brake sensor (if I went that direction) but then thought I could just tap into one of the leads from the brake lights. This could possibly be accomplished with a tap from the fuse panel. In the airplane I fly, we still have some analog systems. The autopilot is one of them. So, if the airplane is making too many inputs or an input is required that it can not handle, a signal is sent to the switch to simply click it off and give manual control back to the pilot (sometimes without warning!). That is what I envision when I step on the brake. The switch clicks itself off returning control to the floor pedal. (Some kind of relay could probably accomplish all of this too but I would prefer as few parts as possible).
Concerns: I don't want to get too deep into this car trying to figure out its software or anything. That is why the more electro-mechanical, the better. It is not a very popular vehicle to mod or tune haha. It is a 2007 Ford Fusion (JU2). UK version, not US. It's hard to even find replacement parts for. I am worried of what would happen if there is a momentary break in the accelerator pedal sensor (from switching back and forth) or if it calibrates itself when you turn the car on (would it even matter?). I am afraid the car could throw a code or turn off or something. I don't want to test it yet since I have no way of clearing the code on mine. I am not sure how long the sensor would have to be show as "removed" before the engine shows a fault. I am guessing even a small break could potentially cause issues. Another concern would be what happens if it does show a fault, would it allow a "re-connection" without turning the car off and on? Many of the sensors usually have to be faulty for a few times before the computer throws a code. I used to have an old VW Diesel and this seemed to be how it worked. Many times as a young tinkerer I forgot to plug things back in until I saw a code for it...
Sorry for the long read. Any thoughts on if it's even worth a try? I figure another cool feature would be that you could set the engine to idle at a higher RPM even while parked. In application, start the car, clear off ice or snow, then hopefully have more heat before you drive off? VW had a similar feature on early TDI engines but I am not sure how successful it was. If you have never driven a small diesel engine car before, they take forever to heat up. In the winter, many people arrive at work before they even have any heat.
If you read this far, thanks! Could be fun and be an application for many drive-by-wire cars.
Cheers!
So, I am an American living in the UK. The cars are much different over here. Many of them are very basic for the purpose of removing driver distractions. The English are very particular about distracted driving.
Thus, I bought a simple, inexpensive car since I will be here only about 2 to 3 years. It does not have cruise control, sadly. Now, a lot of the roads don't require it but I have a few reasons I would like it.
1. It's a small car, my knee hurts to drive based on the position I am in. Even after about 10-15 minutes.
2. The English get fined heavily for speeding and there are speed cameras EVERYWHERE. They have no problem with Big Brother here.
3. Aftermarket Cruise Control systems cost about 340 to 360 GBP plus 100 GBP for install (about $550 total) and are complex in operation. Many use wire taps and are not plug and play or easily removed. I will have to re-sell the vehicle when I leave since I can not take this model back to the US.
4. This model has no Ford Factory options (even though similar models sort of do...)
5. It would be fun to come up with something (heeding to safety concerns)
It is a drive-by-wire car with a small 1.6 TDCi Diesel engine. My idea is to basically have a remote throttle on the dash that mimics the same outputs as the accelerator pedal. When switched on, it would remove power from the floor pedal and transfer it to the dash mounted one (safety plan to follow). I am thinking begin with an actual accelerator pedal from a used car (can get very cheap), remove everything and get just the electronics out of it.
In the aviation world , when we fly without moving the throttles or adjust power, we call it "flying a fuel flow" (or something along those lines). This would be the same thing. Instead of using a speed sensor on the transmission or axel, it would simply hold the throttle at a constant position that you can vary. Instead of holding a speed, going up and down hills would cause speed variations. I actually prefer this and wish more Cruise Control systems operated this way. It is more efficient if you let your speed bleed down slightly when going up a hill and then use gravity to re-accelerate you on your way down. We sometimes fly this way. Sometimes you don't have to brake or pull power and waste the energy that you've already created.
As far as safety, it would require a switch that would release when you step on the brake... the same way it would in a normal system. So, you could hit the brake and return control to the floor pedal or manually switch it off. At first I figured I would have to build some kind of amplifier to get enough current to release a switch from the brake sensor (if I went that direction) but then thought I could just tap into one of the leads from the brake lights. This could possibly be accomplished with a tap from the fuse panel. In the airplane I fly, we still have some analog systems. The autopilot is one of them. So, if the airplane is making too many inputs or an input is required that it can not handle, a signal is sent to the switch to simply click it off and give manual control back to the pilot (sometimes without warning!). That is what I envision when I step on the brake. The switch clicks itself off returning control to the floor pedal. (Some kind of relay could probably accomplish all of this too but I would prefer as few parts as possible).
Concerns: I don't want to get too deep into this car trying to figure out its software or anything. That is why the more electro-mechanical, the better. It is not a very popular vehicle to mod or tune haha. It is a 2007 Ford Fusion (JU2). UK version, not US. It's hard to even find replacement parts for. I am worried of what would happen if there is a momentary break in the accelerator pedal sensor (from switching back and forth) or if it calibrates itself when you turn the car on (would it even matter?). I am afraid the car could throw a code or turn off or something. I don't want to test it yet since I have no way of clearing the code on mine. I am not sure how long the sensor would have to be show as "removed" before the engine shows a fault. I am guessing even a small break could potentially cause issues. Another concern would be what happens if it does show a fault, would it allow a "re-connection" without turning the car off and on? Many of the sensors usually have to be faulty for a few times before the computer throws a code. I used to have an old VW Diesel and this seemed to be how it worked. Many times as a young tinkerer I forgot to plug things back in until I saw a code for it...
Sorry for the long read. Any thoughts on if it's even worth a try? I figure another cool feature would be that you could set the engine to idle at a higher RPM even while parked. In application, start the car, clear off ice or snow, then hopefully have more heat before you drive off? VW had a similar feature on early TDI engines but I am not sure how successful it was. If you have never driven a small diesel engine car before, they take forever to heat up. In the winter, many people arrive at work before they even have any heat.
If you read this far, thanks! Could be fun and be an application for many drive-by-wire cars.
Cheers!